Eating right and well can help prevent and manage many chronic diseases. The best part is that eating right can be easy, simple, delicious, and affordable.
Here are some tips to help you and your family make smart choices in your diet that are sustainable and ensure optimal health.
Tips for Healthy Eating
The secret to a healthy diet is to eat the right amount of calories based on how active you are, your age, and your metabolism. If you consume more food than what your body needs or expends, you will pile on weight. If you consume less than what your body needs and spends, you will lose weight. On an average, it’s recommended that men consume about 2,500 calories per day, and women 2,000 calories a day. However, many people in the US consume more calories than their body requires.
A healthy diet is not just about how much you eat and drink, but also how you consume a wide variety of food to ensure you have a balanced diet and that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs. Rethink your diet in terms of what kind of nutrition goes in each bite.
A nutrition-rich diet is what you should aim for. You are what you eat, and you can balance your diet by following the 80/20 rule. Eat healthy 80% of the time, and 20% can be reserved for treating yourself. Below are some tips for a nutrition-rich diet.
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Include high fiber starchy carbohydrates
Some people think of carbohydrates as fattening, but they contain less than half of the calories found in fats.
Carbohydrates are the foundation of a healthy meal and should form around a third of your food. You should include at least one high fiber starchy carbohydrate in each of your meals. Think fiber-rich options such as wholewheat bread, pasta, brown rice, potatoes preferably with their skin, and cereals.
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Eat lots of fruit and vegetables
Eating lots of fruits and vegetables has been proven to prevent and manage chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, or obesity. But latest research has also linked it to better mental health. It’s proven that eating more fruits and vegetables makes us happier. You have scientifically-backed more reasons now to eat more fruits and vegetables!
It is recommended that you get five servings, portions, or cups of fruits and vegetables every day. But how do you go about getting those recommended servings?
You can aim to have fruits and vegetables in every meal and snack. They could be fresh, frozen, diced, canned, dried, or juiced. You can chop some bananas and walnuts over your pancakes, have a handful of raisins as a snack, vegetables in the form of salad, sandwich, juice, roast, or curry. There are many creative and healthy recipe ideas to ensure you get your five portions of fruits and vegetables every day.
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Cut down on sugar, salt, and saturated fat
There are free sugars that are added in high amounts to many packaged foods and drinks. This is the kind of sugar you should be avoiding or limiting. Regular consumption of free sugars increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.
Read the food labels to check how much sugar it contains. If it reads more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g, the food is high in sugar. If it reads 5g of total sugars or less per 100g, the food is low in sugar.
Instead, you can opt for sugars found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and honey.
Similarly, excess salt in your diet can cause serious health issues such as high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
Even if you are careful about your salt intake while cooking and serving, watch out for salt added in processed foods such as soups, cereals, bread, sauces, etc. If the food label reads 1.5g of salt per 100g, it is high in salt. Adults and children above the age of 11 should not have more than 6g of salt every day. Younger children should have even lesser salt.
Fat is an essential component of a healthy diet. But you need to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you are eating.
All kinds of fat are high in energy and need to be consumed in small amounts. Keep a watchful eye on the oils and fats when you are cooking and serving food, such as the oil in the chips, butter on bread, or creamy dressing on salads.
There are two types of fats – saturated and unsaturated. Too much-saturated fats can increase your cholesterol and raise the risk of heart disease. Men shouldn’t have more than 30g and women not more than 20g of saturated fat each day. Children under 11 should have less saturated fat than adults. However, a low-fat diet is not advisable for children under the age of 5. Saturated fat is found in foods such as butter, hard cheese, cream, cakes, pies, cookies, fatty meat cuts, sausages, or lard.
Reduce saturated fat, and opt for unsaturated fats found in vegetable oils, vegetable spreads, oily fish, lean cut meats, or avocados.
Fish is a good source of fat, vitamin, minerals, and protein. You should aim to have two portions of fish every week, of which one portion is an oily fish. Oily fish are rich in omega-3 fats that help prevent heart disease, and they include salmon, sardines, mackerel, and trout. Fish can be fresh, frozen, or canned. But beware that the canned and smoked variety is high in salt.
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Choose healthy fluids for hydration
You should have at least 6-8 glasses of water every day to avoid dehydration. Other healthy fluid options are low-fat milk, low sugar drinks, including tea and coffee. Avoid fizzy sugary sodas and drinks. Even unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies are high in free sugars. Consume more fluids during summer and after any intense activity such as exercising.
Final Thoughts
Eating well means living well. It doesn’t require an increased budget, time, or effort. All you need to do is to make small but significant changes in your diet. If you would like a consultation on how to change your diet and switch over to a healthier lifestyle, then you can schedule an appointment with Los Gatos Doc: Family General Practitioners in Campbell, CA.
(Disclaimer: We routinely draw upon review a few key public health resources to inform our write-ups. Information in this article may be drawn up from multiple public health sources, including:
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
- Medline Plus
- National Institutes of Health
- American Medical Association
- American Association of Family Physicians
- Mayo Clinic
- Family Doctor)